Warm, luxurious, and timeless- these are the perfect adjectives to describe the elegance of hardwood floors. Every homeowner loves hardwood flooring. However, most of you will go through a challenging phase when it comes to choosing the best types of hardwood flooring.  Here, you can find a complete guide on hardwood flooring.

Engineered vs. Solid hardwood flooring

Traditional hardwood floorings are made of solid wooden boards. But the engineered hardwood flooring offers the appearance of the real hardwood floors with an increase in the application options, and the price is lower. 

• Solid hardwood flooring is the products of milling a single piece of wood. But engineered hardwood boards feature multiple layers of the base with a layer of real hardwood on the top. Apart from that, these boards are laminated and completely water resistant.
• The solid best types of hardwood flooring can have many refinishing, making them highly durable. 
• However, the solid hardwood floor needs a subfloor for the installation. The installers will nail down each board on the subfloor, and you can choose this flooring option for your  concrete subfloor. 
• It is possible to use the engineered wood in the basement because you cannot use solid hardwood in your basement as the solid hardwood usually warps. The resins and polymers present in the engineered floor will withstand the high level of moisture and humidity. 

The choice of the best types of hardwood flooring depends on the place where you are planning to install the same. Engineered hardwood flooring is often the most popular choice as it comes in prefinished format. As a result, you don't need any further service after installation.

Choose The Right Species

Now that you know something basic about the floors, it is time to choose the right species. The standard parameters to check include:

1. Color tons
2. Patterns of wood grains
3. Overall durability

• Oak

The species exhibits two distinct forms, both equally desirable as flooring options.

1. Red oak is a perfect suit for standard flooring that needs warm tones. This form's tones range from creamy pink to rust-brown and golden red. The swirling grain patterns improve the aesthetic to a great extent.

1. White oak is also among the Best Types of Hardwood Flooring that exhibit finer grain patterns and cool hues. These are good for high traffic spaces and create a smooth appearance of the flooring along with elegance. 

• Cherry

If you want to enjoy the warm brown hues and the smooth grain patterns, cherry will be the ideal option. Although it is slightly softer than other hardwood options, it will definitely be a nice choice. It can darken over the years if you continuously expose it to broad sunlight. 

• Hickory

One of the most durable options among the best types of hardwood flooring includes the Hickory species of hardwood, which is ideal for commercial spaces where the foot traffic is high. In fact, the option serves the best for school gymnasium floors. The usual tomes include mocha, creamy beige with hints of red and warm brown streaks. The color options are incredible.

• Maple

This species is also durable with fine grain patterns, and the occasional dark streaks make it a stylish choice for any room. 

• Walnut

The deep rich chocolate tones, along with the straight grain patterns, make this species one of the favorites among the Best Types of Hardwood Flooring. It is suitable for medium to light traffic as it can undergo wear and tear if you install it in high-traffic areas.

The above guide will help yout understand the primary concerns while choosing the hardwood flooring. You can further research the particular topics to understand them in detail.